attività Italian · revision 38484

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1385–1395, Francesco da Buti|origins=la āctīvus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /at.ti.viˈta/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''attività''' ''f'' (invariable)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-lat|activitas|alt=āctīvitās]], a learned word, from [[m|la|activus|alt=āctīvus|t=active]] with the suffix [[m|la|-tas|alt=-tās]].^(LEI)^(GDLI)^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Nocentini 2010)^(GRADIT 2003)^(Wiktionary) In classical Latin the noun had only a grammatical sense, the active voice of the verb (in Probus); scholastic Latin gave it the general sense under the influence of the adjective.^(LEI) The same loan is [[fr|activité]], [[pro|activitat]], [[es|actividad]], [[pt|actividade]] and [[ro|activitate]], and recent derivatives and compounds probably depend on the international technical vocabulary, especially French.^(LEI) Wiktionary calls the word a semi-learned borrowing.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Francesco da Buti's commentary on the ''Inferno'' (Pisa, 1385–1395), in the philosophical sense “active power, capacity to act”.^(TLIO)^(LEI)^(DELI 1999) GRADIT dates the word before 1406, Zingarelli 1395.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The everyday sense “being active, energy in acting” is recorded from 1643, in Oudin's dictionary, and the Crusca dictionaries carried the old forms ''attivitate'' and ''attivitade'' from 1691 to 1863.^(LEI) Phrases followed: ''sfera d'attività'', the space in which a force is felt (1695, Salvini), and ''mettere in attività'' “to put into effect” (1796, Vincenzo Monti).^(LEI)^(DELI 1999)

+

+ Technical senses date from the 19th century: in chemistry the effective concentration of a solute (1865), the eruptive phase of a volcano (1875, Michele Lessona), the assets entered on a balance sheet (1884) and the assets of a firm (1893).^(LEI)^(DELI 1999) Benedetto Croce (1905) and Giovanni Gentile (1931) used it for what acts autonomously.^(LEI) Economists divide occupations into ''attività primaria'' (agriculture), ''secondaria'' (industry) and ''terziaria'' (services).^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Gabrielli 2020) Maltese borrowed the word.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1385–1395 – Francesco da Buti uses ''attività'' “active power”.^(TLIO)^(LEI)

+ * 1643 – Oudin records the sense “energy, being active”.^(LEI)

+ * 1695 – Salvini uses ''sfera d'attività''.^(LEI)

+ * 1796 – Vincenzo Monti writes ''mettere in attività''.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI)

+ * 1865 – The chemical sense is recorded.^(LEI)

+ * 1875 – Michele Lessona uses it for a volcano's eruption.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI)

+ * 1884 – The sense “assets in a balance sheet” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)^(LEI)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(invariable)'' The quality of being active; [[m|en|energy]], industriousness: ''A ottant'anni mia zia ha ancora un'attività invidiabile.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''essere in attività'': to be working; of a plant or machine, to be in operation: ''Il vecchio mulino è ancora in attività.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # A set of coordinated actions aimed at a purpose, or a field of such actions: ''attività sportiva'', ''attività di volontariato''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # A job, [[m|en|occupation]] or [[m|en|business]]: ''Ha lasciato l'impiego in banca per aprire un'attività tutta sua.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Treccani 2011)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # ''(economics)'' An asset; the assets entered in a balance sheet as a whole.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(volcanology)'' The eruptive phase of a volcano.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(physics)'' The number of nuclear decays per unit of time in a radioactive substance; radioactivity.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' The effective concentration with which a solute takes part in the equilibria of a solution.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(LEI)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[iperattività]]

+ * [[disattività]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[attivare]]

+ * [[attivismo]]

+ * [[attivo]]

+ * [[la|activitas]]

+ * [[fr|activité]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}